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MESA, Ariz. — Before Luis Valbuena was traded and Kris Bryant moved closer to reaching the majors, Mike Olt attempted to conquer his biggest battle this offseason: his frame of mind. "You've got to take it all as a learning experience," said Olt, who will compete with Bryant this spring for the bulk of the playing time at third base. "It took me a while to figure it out. I felt like I dwelled on it a lot last year, and I put a lot of pressure on myself. "When you think of all the positive things you did, get over the negatives, you start to pick up something you can learn from last year.'' Manager Joe Maddon withheld judgment on forecasting...

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MESA, Ariz. — Before Luis Valbuena was traded and Kris Bryant moved closer to reaching the majors, Mike Olt attempted to conquer his biggest battle this offseason: his frame of mind.
"You've got to take it all as a learning experience," said...

The Cubs left room for Jon Lester in case the marquee free-agent left-hander signs with them even as they added pitching prospect C.J. Edwards to their 40-man roster before Thursday night's deadline.
The addition of Edwards, 23, who has struck out 294...

We've already established that Joe Maddon is crazy, one of the prerequisites to taking the Cubs job in the first place.
But we also found out Monday that Maddon wants his players to be just as crazy as him.
"You have to have a little bit of crazy...

The players all dressed in crazy costumes for the postgame plane ride, some imitating superheroes and a couple even pretending to be team executives.
It was a blatant attempt to lighten the atmosphere in the clubhouse, and everyone got in on the act,...

PITTSBURGH — Baseball's awards races are winding down, and the Baseball Writers Association of America has some difficult choices to make in the four voting categories for each league.
Mike Trout, Clayton Kershaw and Jose Abreu appear to be shoo-ins...

MILWAUKEE — Adding Jon Lester or Cole Hamels would give the Cubs more than just a bona fide left-handed All-Star ace.
It would take the pressure off members of a rotation that hope to attain the 200-inning mark as well as alleviate the workload of a...

The Chicago Cubs won't be facing former teammate Matt Garza on Friday night when they visit the Milwaukee Brewers.
Garza, who pitched for the Cubs from 2011-13, was scratched because of right shoulder stiffness. He finishes his first season with the...

The pain of losing the likes of Ryan Dempster, Matt Garza and Scott Feldman is subsiding quickly.
That’s the feeling of pitching coach Chris Bosio, who understands the process the Cubs have experienced the past three seasons and how he saw it start to...

PITTSBURGH — The final homestand of a season the Cubs dubbed the "Party of the Century" begins Monday at Wrigley Field.
Fans will get their last chance to see the 100-year-old ballpark without a jumbo-sized video board dominating the backdrop...

Welington Castillo has more than enough service time to not be forced to wear the costumes that the Cubs' rookies sported during their flight to Toronto on Sunday following a 10-4 loss to the Pirates that capped a three-game home sweep.
But Castillo, who...

Injuries to Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro have allowed manager Rick Renteria to tinker more with the middle of the Chicago Cubs' lineup.
The Cubs will try to complete a three-game sweep of National League Central contender Milwaukee on Wednesday night...

Moving Javier Baez to shortstop wasn't what the Cubs had in mind when they stockpiled that position with the acquisition of minor league prospect Addison Russell on July 5.
But depth will be a key issue if the Cubs want to embark on their ascent to...

After getting punched for most of five months, the Chicago Cubs would have a reason to gloat after damaging the National League Central title hopes of Milwaukee with their first three-game home sweep of the Brewers in 10 seasons.
But even after...

The summary
The Cubs made life miserable for former teammate Matt Garza as well as the Brewers' playoff hopes. They put together five hits Wednesday night during a four-run third off Garza to support rookie Kyle Hendricks.
At the plate
Logan Watkins...

I constantly hear reporters citing the contract with Sam Zell and the Tribune that the Ricketts family was "forced" to accept in purchasing the Cubs as the reason that it is impossible to increase payroll and sign free agents. What am I...

WASHINGTON — Jake Arrieta pitched admirably Sunday as he moved to the forefront of the Cubs’ staff in the wake of the departures of Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel.
But like Samardjiza and Hammel, he knows the Cubs’ offensive support often...

WASHINGTON -- On the same night top prospects Javier Baez and Kris Bryant each hit home runs for Triple-A Iowa, the Chicago Cubs loaded up on more prospects.
That came at a cost of top pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, leaving a Cubs team that...

I've noticed over the past few years, it seems the Cubs are the only team that continues to deploy a left and right-handed lineup card depending on the starting pitcher. To me, that seems like it would be hard for anyone to get in a groove. Why not just...

It's not that Jeff Samardzija would turn down $85 million from the Cubs, it's why would the Cubs offer him even that much?
As an employee for the company that holds a 5 percent stake in the Chicago National League Ball Club, I need to know how stupid the...